Weekly Musings: 7/12-7/19

NEPD Staff Writer: Mike Gerken

Despite this being the slow period of the NFL, I have a lot on my mind today and I want to share some of that stuff with you today. First off, I will be starting a new series for those who want to get an early start on scouting for next years draft. I will be putting out a watch list of the top Senior players at each position with QB’s up first. With that drop, it gave me the idea of going through the Patriots depth chart position by position to get a better sense of camp battles and who to watch when the pads are finally put on. The final thing I wanted to talk about was starting up a fantasy football league. I got into my first dynasty league a couple of years ago and found it to be very enjoyable and wanted to see if there was interest in starting one up with members from this site. If I can find 11 other wanting to do a free dynasty league, I will do so. Just let me know in the comments area below.

I will be dropping the QB watch list in a separate post, but I thought I would go ahead and talk about the Patriots depth chart here and what I will be looking forward to seeing from camp. Today, we start off with the QB’s:

Depth Chart:

Starter: Tom Brady

Backup(s): Jimmy Garoppolo, Jacoby Brissett

Position Strength: Excellent

You would think having the greatest Quarterback to ever play the game would mean there is not drama heading into camp, but that is just not the case. For almost a year now, we have waited and wondered what the Patriots were going to do with Jimmy G. Well, now that we know the answer, it created even more questions. Are the Patriots planning on phasing Tom Brady out in lieu of the younger, unproven player with the high upside? Will Brady continue to play at a high level and continue to show no signs of slowing down? While the answer may not come to surface any time soon, it is a good problem to have. There are so many teams in the NFL that would feel really good going into the season with Jimmy G as their starter, let alone their backup. Time will only tell who will be the signal caller after this year, but this team is built to win a Super Bowl this year, and keeping Jimmy G as an insurance policy was the right move in my opinion.

What to watch for in camp:

We all know what to expect from Brady. We can watch with a critical eye to see if father time is catching up with the soon to be 40 year old, but I honestly think we will see the same guy we have seen for the past decade. No, your eyes need to be glued on the backups. Can Jimmy G close the gap between him and Brady? What I mean is, can he look like Brady? Over the years, Brady has always made things look easy and everything is done to near perfection. Also in those years, you could see a clear drop off when the backup came in. To be fair to those guys, we are talking about the GOAT, so that is understandable. If Jimmy G is going to replace Brady, he has to continue to make jumps in his development and show he can do what Brady does.

Then we have Brissett. Can he make the year two jump? We saw Jimmy G show marked improvement from year one to year two, now it is time for Brissett to do the same. Word out of OTA’s gives me pause to think this is going to happen. I want to see his decision making and his ability to get rid of the ball quickly improve. If he can show that, it may give the Patriots more confidence that they can succeed with a youth movement.

Final Thoughts:

Most likely, we are going to see Brady being Brady, and barring an injury, the last time we see either one of the backups play will be in the 4th preseason game. I think long term, we are going to see #12 under center for the Patriots for a few more years and his replacement is probably in college.

Again, if you would be interested in playing in a dynasty fantasy football league, let me know in the comments. My only request is that if you do want to play, you stay active. That is really the only way a dynasty league can survive.

11 Responses to “Weekly Musings: 7/12-7/19”

Garoppolo is the big question looking at next years draft. OT Solder is likely gone after this year , just to much money for OT approaching 30 years old; which will free up some money.
It’s hard to see the Patriots giving Garoppolo a big contract, or using the tag on him for the same reason.
One thing is for sure, as long as Brady is around,, the Patriots will carry 3 QB’s on the roster.
If Garoppolo walks, the Patriots will get an early 3d round Comp. pick 2019.
So “if” Garoppolo leaves, the Patriots will be looking at a QB in the 2018 draft, maybe 1st round, to get a longer contract, “if” there is one they like.

Hi Russell, I agree JG is the big question going toward the 2018 draft. As of now we have no actual indication of what BB is thinking, all guess on our part. I think it’s still possible Bill tags him. What happens after that is a question. Once tagged the Pat’s have control and can either work on a trade for a first rd pick or multiple lower picks ( my best guess) or keep him aboard for insurance for one more year (expensive cap hit). Be interesting to see how it all comes down.
On Solder again I agree he is in his last year with the Pats. Bill took two OT’s in the draft so I expect our next starting LT is now onboard. Maybe even our swing tackle too, who knows?
On QB White. Haven’t spent any time so far on the next draft but you give me a starting point which I’ll look at. Thanks!
I’m planning on going down to the opening of camp on the 27th and either Sat. or Sun. If your there and see an old guy with a “Goodell kiss my” T shirt come over and say hello.
All you other guys too.

JG seems to have all the innate tools to become a top QB, however, until he plays with regularity, perhaps a full season, I don’t see how he can make a quantum leap. Practice is not enough to dramatically improve. One must play under fire and overcome set backs to really grow.

Barring injury I don’t expect to see any drop off in Brady this year. I truly believe him when he says he wants to play until 45 and the way he works out and eats and because his ability is not athletically driven I can see him doing it.

I’ve been playing FF for years in one league. I know some guys who play in multiple leagues. That isn’t for me because doing it right requires attention and time. If you never have played before it will change the way you look at the game and in my opinion a negative way. Your focus changes from who wins to which individual players get you points that week. Can be distracting. If I ever stop playing that will be why. I certainly am up for playing in a league made up of the contributors and followers of this site.

Mike what is a Dynasty League? Regular fantasy football or some added twist? I presume we would do an on-line draft? Who would be the Commissioner? How would we do trades and add/drops? What point system would we use?

My brother and I have been attending at least one Patriot practice session each year for years. I’ve also gone by myself at times. The crowds amaze me. We prefer to go to joint practices and that is our plan this year – date TBD. We have a system and a favorite spot to sit on the hill by the tree. When I know the date I’ll share it here as I would love to meet in-person.

A dynasty league starts out the same as a regular(redraft league) but instead, you can keep any and all the players from your team year to year. The first year draft is just like any other fantasy football draft where every player is in the draft, but the years after, you have a much shorter draft (usually 4 or 5 rounds) in which you just draft rookies and any free agents.
What I like about dynasty leagues is that it awards good drafting and knowing the rookies as well as promotes trading. I played in multiple redraft leagues over the years and after the draft, very little action happened between teams. Teams that were bad stopped playing and it got very boring.
In dynasty, there is still strategy if your team is having a bad season. Trading off quality players for draft picks, things like that. It also allows for some activity in the offseason as well.

In my league we vary it based upon a vote on draft day, which is in-person the Saturday of Labor Day weekend. Sometimes we keep 1, other times 2, often none.

Mike,

What do you see as a deadline to put this league together i.e. knowing we have enough participants, setting up teams, the draft etc.? Seems like participation here lately has been light and I am sure once people come back we will need to know the time frames. Thx

and you are right, losing teams losing interest and no longer participating is a major drag and unfair to the teams and league. The league I am in has a yearly entrance fee and a charge for FA pick-ups and trades, which encourages ongoing participation but does not guarantee. We also pay out money weekly to the highest scoring team and then at the end to the top three teams followed by choosing new actual playoffs teams based upon actual NFL playoff teams with an entry fee where winner takes all.

No idea how those fantasy teams/leagues work Mike. Be interested in learning more about them. Looking forward to camp again this year planning on going down once or twice when open to fans. I’ll be wearing my custom “Goodell, Kiss My” T shirt. Like to meet any of you guys if you see me there. Excitement is building, can hardly wait for this years action.